Several bills target school trust lands

They address the governor's power and fees for usage

By Donna Kemp Spangler
Deseret Morning News

Published: Saturday, Jan. 31 2004 12:00 a.m. MST

Summary

Lawmakers are hoping to make some changes to school trust lands that range from removing the governor's power on land exchanges to boosting fees for using the lands to graze cows or ride off-road vehicles.

At least five bills, four of which passed committee Friday, would amend laws governing the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), the agency that manages scattered parcels of lands given to the state upon statehood for the support of Utah's public schools.

The House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Standing Committee has approved:

HB55, sponsored by Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, would strike the provision that calls for governor approval on land exchanges. The bill has passed the House and is before a Senate committee.

HB233, sponsored by Rep. Eli Anderson, D-Tremonton, would increase the grazing fees on state trust lands from 5 cents per animal unit month (AUM) to 10 cents. (An animal unit month is the amount of forage needed to sustain one cow and her calf; a horse; or five sheep or goats for a month.) The money would be used to help fight insect infestation problems.

HB78, sponsored by Rep. David Clark, R-Santa Clara, would set up a restricted account within the Uniform School Fund that collects the interest and dividends to be used in the School Land Trust Program.

HB214, sponsored by Rep. Jim Gowans, D-Tooele, would clarify SITLA's authority to make administrative rules by striking the word, "policy" and replacing it with "rule."

HB220, sponsored by Rep. Brent Goodfellow, D-West Valley, would deposit $1.50 of the annual registration fee collected on off-road vehicles (OHV) into a SITLA account to pay for improving and maintaining access of OHV trails on state trust lands.

The bills have sparked little debate, with the exception of the little-noticed section of HB220 that gives a portion of the OHV money to SITLA.

Although the bill focuses mostly on increasing fees for OHV users to pay for trail improvements, Goodfellow added a provision in the bill that gives a small amount to SITLA.

Goodfellow's bill would allow the state Parks and Recreation Board to increase vehicle registration fees. Currently, it costs a total of $14.50 to register OHVs. The bill could hike that to $21.50, with $1.50 of that diverted to SITLA to maintain the trails on the state lands.

That came as a surprise to some OHV enthusiasts.

"We support the fee increase," said Mark H. Williams with a southern Utah OHV club. "We're only opposed to the fee for the school trust lands. It doesn't seem fair to charge $1.50 to us when you only charge cows a dime."

Noel said he pays roughly $250 to graze his cow. "My cows are paying a lot more than you and they aren't polluting the air," he said.

Kevin Carter, director of SITLA, assured that the money would be used for trail improvements.

"The money is not to provide blanket access for OHVs, but if a trail goes across a section onto another, the money could be used to close the loop," Carter said. "We're trying to control the burgeoning use."

E-mail: donna@desnews.com

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Several bills target school trust lands

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